Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself”. You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that “I may have to shoot today”. You don’t have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to “Watch your six.” (In aviation 12 o’clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft’s nose. Six o’clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are “taking in” surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, “I might have to shoot.”

While I credit Cooper for his early contributions to training, his lack of real-world experience made me hesitant to take his endless advice at face value.

Also, aside from training, I knew Jeff Cooper was a blowhard, an attention whore, and had a poor track record of picking equipment (Bren Ten, CZ75, etc.). His tortured sentence structure made deciphering his ramblings a tedious chore. And he loved to take credit for things for which he was a mere spectator, rather than a pioneer.

After reading the new issue of Guns & Ammo, we can apparently add “Shit-Talker” and “Sore Loser” to his resume: